The Nintendo 3DS looks sweet -- there's an impressive array of launch titles in the works -- and it comes with gorgeous graphics, network-connected gameplay, and a 3D camera module. (Source: ArsTechnica)

Kid Icarus 3D is another Nintendo 3DS title to lust after. (Source: ArsTechnica)

Nintendo's star video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and Zelda, was on hand to show off a new Wii Zelda title. (Source: Giant Bomb)

Zelda: Skyward Sword adds freeform combat. (Source: Giant Bomb)

Nintendo silences the competition with a killer lineup

Nintendo's
rise to the top in the latest round of console wars was nothing sort
of shocking. When the brand suffered through the Gamecube era,
many people wrote the company off. However, with the launch of
the Wii and Nintendo DS, Nintendo flattened
the competition in terms of profitability and console
sales.

Now, at Nintendo's annual E3 keynote, the company has
unveiled an upcoming lineup that's nothing short of stunning.
Leading the way is the Nintendo
3DS. The 3DS reinvents the handheld. Why has 3D TVs
and gaming failed to catch on? "It's the glasses, "
complains Reggie Fils-Aime.

There are no glasses to be seen
with the 3DS. Gorgeous visuals for a handheld, falling between
the PS2 and PS1 in quality (plus 3D added on top), greeted viewers of
the keynote. The top screen is 3.5-inch display, while a
smaller bottom screen does touch input. There's new sensors
including a gyroscope and a side slider to adjust the depth of the 3D
effect. The unit supports Wi-Fi (according to Nintendo it
communicates "without you evening know it") for
internet-enabled gameplay.

Nintendo has assembled an arsenal
of A-list launch titles and upcoming games. Leading the way are
Kingdom Hearts 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, Assassins creed, Metal
Gear Solid. And Nintendo is chipping in Kid Icarus 3D and
Nintendogs 3D (which will also feature kittens!).

The handheld
even comes with a 3D
camera, which uses two lenses on the back of the unit. That
means that the device may even see use beyond the regular gaming
workload.

Meanwhile, the company plans to continue its
campaign of dominance on the Wii by expanding its list of titles.
The keynote kicked off with the introduction Zelda Skyward Sword.
This title allows you to utilize the nunchuk as a shield and the Wii
Motion Plus as a sword for freeform combat. It brings back
popular Zelda weapons -- the slingshot and bow -- and introduces new
ones, like a whip. It will air early next year.

Also
coming up is Goldeneye 007 -- the long awaited successor to the
best-selling Nintendo 64 title. The game will feature 16 gaming
modes for multiplayer mayhem and eight Bond characters -- just in
case you find Daniel Craig annoying and want to get you Connery
groove on. The game will launch in November.

Other top
titles include Metroid: Other M, starring everyone's favorite
Nintendo vixen Samus, and Donkey Kong. The new Metroid launches
August 31. The new Donkey Kong title, complete with Diddy and
Donkey Kong playable, will launch during the holiday season.

Even the
old homely DS -- the best
selling console of all time -- received some love, with the
gorgeously animated Kirby's Epic Yarn. Also upcoming for the DS
is Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, the latest in a line of popular mobile
RPGs. The title will feature real time combat and dual screen
boss battles.

Nintendo boasted some impressive numbers -- 22
million copies of Mario Kart for Wii sold internationally, a vast
lead in global console sales, and, according to NPD, the distinction
of being the console most desired to be purchased. Also
according to the recent NPD study people spend more time playing
their Wiis than any other console.

Maintaining a sufficient
volume of quality game titles has been Nintendo's weak point in
recent years. High
profile titles have pleased, but have been far too
infrequent. If E3 is any indication, that should soon change.
And even with Microsoft's
motion sensing Kinect (Project Natal), Xbox
360 Slim, and $149 Xbox 360 Arcade edition -- plus whatever
Sony pulls out later today -- it looks to be the star of E3 2010's
console war. We're guessing that within a year or so they're
going to be trying to cook up 3D handhelds of their own, but for now
Nintendo is yet again placing itself on the bleeding edge of gaming.

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Guess that depends which console you prefer playing and its games. I'm waiting impatiently for my new 360 at Gamestop.

I agree. I thought Nintendo's presser was very good, although I prefer the PS3 & 360 to the Wii, the 3DS looks impressive, & you can't deny the games are what ultimately matters, looks like Nin will deliver, & not just for the casuals.

I personally agree. I found Twilight Princess and Spirit Tracks to be a little painful to play through out of sheer boredom. Phantom Hourglass was ok, but Spirit Tracks felt like a weak expansion as opposed to a new game, with more time spent sitting in the stupid train than having fun.

Well, I enjoyed Ocarina of Time a lot when it was released. Age could have been a factor--not sure, because I only ever played through it once. I've played through Link to the Past many times though. And while many people have loved the Metroid games on the Wii, they've lost their magic to me. While novel, the motion controls don't seem to add much to games like these, and actually seem to detract from the game's appeal in some cases.

I'll probably try them both eventually, since Nintedno is great at surprising you with fun games, but I definitely won't be rushing to buy them at release like I used to for these loved Nintendo franchises.

There's no way they can be as bad as the latest Final Fantasy game, right?

It is common sense if you own 360 not to move it while a disc is spinning. Why most gamers always go into some diatribe about I can move product a b c d e f g without scratching discs is hilarious & moot. MS said don't move the console if the disc is spinning, what another disc spinning product really doesn't apply here. Ireally don't get the whole disc scratching argument. I have owned my launch model since November 05, has never scratched a disc. It sits on my desk next to the PS3, there really is no reason for me to move it, especially if it's on.

It is common sense if you own 360 not to move it while a disc is spinning. Why most gamers always go into some diatribe about I can move product a b c d e f g without scratching discs is hilarious & moot. MS said don't move the console if the disc is spinning, what another disc spinning product really doesn't apply here. Ireally don't get the whole disc scratching argument. I have owned my launch model since November 05, has never scratched a disc. It sits on my desk next to the PS3, there really is no reason for me to move it, especially if it's on.

it wasn't the GCN that made nintendo suffer; it was the N64. the GCN was simply the continuation aftershock from the upset that occurred circa 1997. the GCN was actually more powerful than the PS2, and had a lot of excellent games. the ONLY factor which pointed to the GCN not being a total success was carry-over from the PS1's cricital acclaim. In many regards, it still commanded a strong 2nd place in the previous console generation.

I enjoyed the games N64 back in the day, GoldenEye being a top example. But Gamecube only had a few titles that I really cared about and once Xbox and Halo launched, that was pretty much the end of my Nintendo days. Even the remakes of Resident Evil wasn't enough.

I even said goodbye to Sony after all the bullshit they pulled the last several years, and I was a dedicated Playstation 1 gamer back in the day.

I went back & watched the Nintendo presser again, but honestly there was nothing I was interested in from them. I watched more of the Zelda footage, but the game looks like the last one, when the guys started using the motion controls that turned me completely off. If the game doesn't force you to use them I may be interested. I was hoping for a much more older looking Link. Seems like a mix of Windwaker, & the last game.

I'm a dedicated Nintedo fanboy. Although, I actually skiped the Gamecube and had an xbox, I kindof regret it, I got bored with the xbox in a couple months and gave it to my little brothers. I freaking love my Wii, but I freely admit, I've been jealous of some of the 360 features. Thankfully I'm rectifying that tomorrow as I can't resist the $100 price for the Arcade at Walmart (after $50 gift card inclusion). Though, honestly I'm not sure I'll really buy much games for it, I love the Netflix streaming and other media features. (funnily, I've actually been using a 360 controller for my PC for quite a while. It works fantastically for Portal and many other games.)

So, there were a lot of interesting announcements across the board. Kinect looks uninteresting to me... but maybe if they get some more interesting games for it. I hate Sony with a passion, so sorry I dont care at all about anything they do.

Most notably missing: NO ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT NEXT GEN. (aside from 3ds, but i'm talking about home consoles). This is dissapointing to me, as no current console is capable of 1080p120hz...

The 360 and PS3 cant do 1080p 120hz as far as I've heard. Currently, the PS3 can only get 3d 1080p at 60hz (which is a headache inducing 30hz per eye)

You are probably thinking about 3d movies. 3d movies only require 1080p @ 48 hz to work (2x 24hz video feed)This seems to work fine for movies, but everyone says 60hz per eye is necessary for games (120hz total)

BD players don't output 120 hz. Neither do HD-DVDs. They all push 24 hz, just like your 360 and PS3. It's not a problem with the device pushing the picture, it's the device driving the picture.

For this whole 60 hz per eye, that's 3D. That's the point of those stupid glasses. Each lense is essentially a 1 pixel screen, which turns completely black or clear. It will display 60 hz for one eye, then turn it off for the other. It does this in time with the TV, to give you the 3D effect. Doesn't have crap to do with what is being outputted from the device. Only what is displaying it.

I think you are saying its okay to output 60hz from the console (30hz per eye) and then have the tv upscale it to 120hz, which would not really do anything. No, I'm sorry, this would give you a headache, 30hz per eye is not enough (and upscaled to 60hz wont improve it). Many new 3D bluray players will output 120hz. Did you say hd-dvd? this isn't 2007, hd-dvds been dead for a while and there are NO 3d hd-dvds.

Look at 3d gaming on the pc, all the Nvidia 3d vision stuff and all the new 3d laptops and pc monitors use 120hz, with 120hz actually being output from the gpu (again, 60hz per eye.)